The first surveyed the views of principals; the second examined the relative levels of funding of primary and secondary schools from the nineteenth century to the present; and the third presented intensive case studies of the level and use of resources in 30 primary schools. This study builds on the earlier studies and examines the capacity of Australian primary schools to meet the challenges facing them.

Researchers from the Australian Council for Educational Research drew a random sample of 160 primary schools structured so that schools from each State and sector were included. All government and non-government education authorities gave permission for the schools in their jurisdictions to take part. It was agreed that there would be no reporting of differences among states or school systems and that individual schools would not be identified. The conclusions reached in the study therefore apply to Australian primary schools generally. The study focused on: curriculum coverage and assessment; targeted support in core curriculum areas for resource intensive students (students with special needs and/or behaviour disorders); teacher quality; and school discretion and control of resource allocation.

The study finds that Australian primary schools do not have sufficient resources to achieve fully the goals set for them by governments; in many of the schools serving low socioeconomic communities, the shortage is acute. However, some of the challenges facing primary schools are not due to a resource insufficiency.